Snap fastener member



Jim 1940- R. w. JOHNSON 2,187,321

SNAP EASTENER MEMBER Filed Nov. 17, 1938 RwsseZZ Wehbmon.

.9 Zafbz'p certain, positions of the fastener as a result of UN TE STATES PATENT orl-lca u I u smmm mf" a v itpuauumte 17 less,

1 onm- (cuss-u)- inimalis relates to improvements in" snap fasteners.

The. chief object of my'invention'is directed to the improved construction of the U shaped base of a snap fastener of the s'oj-call'ed' .hookon'. typ having snap-acting attachingmeans extending from the upper arm of the base; In"

' my improved construction, portions of the upper armhave a greater lateral dimension than the lower arm of the base so as to prevent tipping of .the fastener into'an openingrof a supporting panel with which the'fastener'isassembled in pressure applied to the snap -acting attaching means'in the direction ofthe upper arm; a

Referring to the drawing, in which I have 11- lustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention:

' Fig. 1 isa sectional view o'fia preferredinstallation of my invention showing thexmann'er in which an upholstery panel maybe-secured to a support bymeans of oneof my improved fastener'membe'rs shown in side elevation; Fig. 2 is a top planview showing themanner bywhich my improvedfastener member is asi sembled with an upholstery panel;

perse; t Fig. 4 is a front viewof my fastenermember' 30 v v 1 I Y a V fastener member relativegto. themanel. I l a Fig. '3 is a. rear view of my fastener member perse; Fig.5 is a botto per se; a v

r Fig. 6 isj'a" topfplan view of my improved fas- J view. member tener member assembled with upho st ry. Panel having a circularaperture and showinga po sition; which may be taken by'the fastenermembe'r relative to the panel; and 5' {Fig. 7 isa topplanlview'of one-of my 1m:

\ "proved fastener members secured-to an:. upho-l- 40' stery panel having an elongated' aperturei'and showing a position whichrnay be taken by my 'Referring to Figs 1,- .2, ea ui'lg inwjhich 1* have illustrated a preferred "useof my invention. I have shown anilipholsteryfpanel lnciudinga backing l.ofcardboard-.or. the'like material cove ered-onitsiexposed-surfacefbyfflexiblematerial,

j 2, such'as clothor'the 1 secured jaf vlm t F a I be the frame of adoorbran-automobile; bya sn s mm ;ha las ab se men mf hs s twith hq fl fl Me and a stud portion in,-fllia'piiastener- CREM -T; ijment'with the supportthrough'anaperture-l o 15 thereof. The cardboardfpanelFjlQmay'havea g mg'ia serves tojincrease yieldability of upholstery panel tion. Thejbase portion 1, in'my preferred form, is of the U-shaped. hook-'on",typ e and has an a rectangular aperture 8 orcircular aperture 6a lowerarm VH 'and connectedto thetlower arm able socket-engaging portions i4 and II- (Flgsi J 3 and 4) which are joined'l tog'ether at their.

1);; which may 1 t V sterywpanel' is disposed. ''An opening ll is'projvided in my'fastener member adjacent the socketportions 14 and I5 and extends'from the s .l ll'th'rough the upper arm 9, the bight l3 rectangular aperture I, as shown in Figs. 2 and Y I, for receiving a" portion of the fastener base for the base to the panel, or a circular aperture to, as shown in Fig. 6. p i

Although I have preferably-illustrated the me it 7 of my improved fastener members with trim panel installations, I do not wishto be limited thereby asjiny fastener members are capableof satisfactory operation with other installations than i 0 the one specifically illustrated and described,

Referring in detail to my hnprovedfastener member, I-have shown one which, in my 'pre-j ferredform, is made entirelyfrom. one piece of metal, My preferred form of fastener member is broadly similar to one with which I am familiar and which isillustrated and described in;con-

the fasteners of the above-mentioned application.

i as will be hereinafter set out. The fastener member has a base portion 1 and an attachingmeans in the form of a snap-actingstud. 8, extending in angular relation toflthebi'se par-- upper arm 8 for engaging an upper surface ll ofvthe panel I and a lower arm ll engaging a lower surface l2 (Fig. 1) of the panel 'I-through therein. Ribs la may be formed in'the base j I for stren hening purposes, as will'beunderr stood by those skilled in the art The upper arms is in superimposed spaced relation to the by a bightfli. .The stud mean extendsjfrom adjacent ahead of; the upper arms opposed to the bight in substantially perpendicular re lat'ion to the base a portion, as most clearly. shown in Fig. -1. The'stud'rneans'l-hasapair ofyieldends opposed to'the base portion I forming a .nose It.) Outersides of the socket-enga in portions lland lildivergefromthe' nosej I8 and then converge toward the arm 8 7 providing shoulders I'I-jll' for'snap fastener 'engagement "behind an opposite surface'of a portion .of. the. V

support I from that opposite which the upholand -.into the lower. arm II of .the'base. The

v the socket-engaging portions I4 and I! so as to enable them to move toward and away from each other in direct opposite relation during engagement thereof with the support 3 through the aperture 5.

The fastener member is preferably applied to the trim panel after the covering 2 is applied to the panel I and from the rear side of the panel by inserting the lower arm II through an aperture 6 or 6a and forcing the base into place so that the fastener assumes a position as shown in Fig. 1 with the lower arm II engaging one surface of the support and the upper arm 9 engaging an opposite surface of the support. Heretofore fastener members have been used which provide a U-shaped base of the hook-on" type secured to a panel in the manner of the fastener member which is the subject of the present application. In the constructions of the U-shaped bases of the fastener members heretofore known, however, the lateral dimensions of the upper arm are substantially the same as the lateral dimensions of the lower arm. As a result, during attachment of thetrim panel to the support, if the snap-acting attaching means of the fastener is not in exact alignment with the cooperating aperture of the part to which the panel is to be attached, the attaching means may be caused to Jam with the wall of the aperture of the last-mentioned part whereby the fastener is moved from normal fastened position with the bight thereof substantially adjacent an edge I9 0f the opening of the trim panel (Fig. 1) to a position in which the bight is substantially spaced from the edge of the panel opening (Figs. 6 and 7). At the same time, when the fastener is in said last-mentioned displaced position, there is a tendency for the upper arm of the U-shaped base to tip backwardly into the opening of the trim panel as a result of the pressure upon the attaching means thereby causing an unattractive bulge in the outer side of the cloth covering the panel. The improved feature of the fastener member, which is the subject of this present application, over fastener members heretofore known in the art results from modifications in the construction of the upper arm 9, which limits any chance of movement of the upper arm into the opening of the cardboard panel I even though the bight of the fastener base has taken an unnatural or displaced position, as shown in Figs. 6 and 'I. As a means for carrying out my desired object, wing portions 20 are provided adjacent the side edges of the upper arm 9 between the attaching means 8 and the bight l3 which extend laterally beyond the side edges 2| of the lower arm II, as most clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Thus, as may be clearly seen from inspection of Figs, 6 and 7, when the bight of the fastener base has been removed from normal fastened position substantially adjacent the edge I of the opening, the wing portions 20 provide a relatively wide bearing surface superposed above the inner surface In of the panel I adjacent the j aperture 8 or Go, depending upon the shape of aperture preferred, so as to prevent tipping of the upper arm 9 into the opening of the panel. Thus it will be seen that as a result of the modified construction of the base member of the fastener, I have effected a fastener member capable of more eflicient and satisfactory performance over those heretofore known in the art.

Although I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, I do-not wish to be limited thereby because the scope of my invention is best defined in the following claim.

I claim:

A snap fastener member having a U-shaped 1 attaching portioh comprising an upper arm for engaging an upper surface of a support, a lower arm in spaced substantially parallel relation to said upper arm for engaging a lower surface of said support through an opening of said support, a bight connecting said arms at their ends, snap-acting stud means at the end of said upper arm opposed to said bight and extending in angular relation to said upper arm, and the side edges of said upper arm diverging from adjacent said stud means directly away therefrom and laterally beyond the side edges of said lower arm and then converging to said bight thereby to provide overlapping portions to limit tipping movement of said upper arm into said opening of said support when said upper arm is in certain positions relative to the opening and pressure is applied to said snap-acting stud means in a direction toward said upper arm.

RUSSELL W. JOHNSON. 

